James Lawton: Can Aguero transform City the way Maradona lifted Napoli? Yes, and it's already happening
What was Sergio Aguero supposed to say when asked if he can work the same kind of transforming magic for Manchester City his father-in-law Diego achieved for Naples, another historically underachieving team wearing blue shirts? With even less aptitude than Fabio Capello for the routine English platitude, he was obliged to say, pretty much, yes.
He was quite right too because it is already happening.
Aguero has done more than inject a beautifully sharp talent into the play of his new club – and strike up a potentially sublime playing relationship with the hugely gifted but previously too often exasperated David Silva.
He is doing precisely what his father-in-law did and so far without so much as a hint that he is carrying anything in his baggage to put the city's police force, tax inspectors, paternity lawyers, drug dealers and all-round underworld hustlers on full alert.
Maradona's existence in Naples, as it did largely before and after, lurched between heaven and hell on an almost daily basis but there was the same constant implicit in all that his son-in-law has pulled off in just four Premier League games.
It was the overwhelming evidence that however carefully a team is assembled, however extravagant the outlay on playing resources, it must await the vital catalyst of a player supremely confident in his ability to influence the course of events.
It means that as the Champions League cavalcade this week reclaims its gaudy place in our lives, surely nothing is more compelling than the question of Aguero's ability to extend his astonishing impact to the highest level of club football when Maradona's old Napoli team step out at Etihad stadium tomorrow tonight.
The Italians, under the clever prompting of their midfield playmaker Marek Hamsik, will no doubt ask quite a few more questions than Aguero's principal Premier League victims, Swansea City and Wigan Athletic, but on current evidence it is hard to imagine they will do a whole lot better. It may be absurd that some are already mentioning City, before their first Champions League game, in the same breath as Barcelona, but if this reaction is particularly exaggerated you would still have to be residing on another planet not be drawn into some measurement of City's progress since the landfall of the young Argentine.
It is dramatic enough, certainly, to persuade some hard-headed critics that if Manchester United have brilliantly met the challenge handed down to them by Barça last spring, if their football has regained a life and vigour and youthful optimism that has been consistently breathtaking, it is the football of their neighbours which has been the more stunning in its balance and easy penetration.
So far the teams have been performing a hand-to-hand battle for attention that makes Arsenal's appearance at Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea's hosting of Bayer Leverkusen tonight seem like the merest canapés before the main course of tomorrow's City-Napoli and United's visit to one of their most atmospheric battlegrounds, Benfica's Estado da Luz. Some say it is a little early to make such judgements but you have to suspect they can't have been watching too carefully.
Of course, it could well be that after a less than arresting start, Andre Villas-Boas is in the process of making something of what is left of the old Chelsea powerhouse and, who knows, Arsène Wenger may find some redemption in his desperate pickings at the transfer window.
However, for the moment, reality (at least that part of it represented by the bookmakers) says that the Premier League is a two-horse race with United 11-10 to retain their title and City 2-1 to play their way to the top of the English establishment. Interestingly, Chelsea (at 9-1) are still considered one point stronger than City to lift the Champions League, with United third favourites (at 13-2) behind Barça and Real Madrid.
What the numbers don't describe is the profundity of the change Aguero, from the moment he stepped on to the field as a second-half substitute, has brought to the way we have to look at City. United, it is true, have been remarkable but we knew at the end of last season that Wayne Rooney was stirring to some degree and that Javier Hernandez was emerging as a striker of sensational possibilities, but what couldn't be imagined, even as recently as the Community Shield game at Wembley, was that one player might influence such change in City.
Naturally, Roberto Mancini's every instinct is to urge caution, though tactically such emphasis has to be part of his City past, considering the attacking options that now yell to him every time he comes to pick his team. "Let's see what happens in May if we are still playing in the Champions League," he declares, "and if we are in contention in the Premier League. It is still early for us. One year is not enough to change the mentality."
No one appears to have mentioned this to Aguero or his irrepressible work-mate Silva. It might be argued that relating the early work of the former to the impact of Maradona was both premature and ejaculatory but then it made a degree more sense if you happened to be in Naples when his father-in-law was inducing delirium, when they were flying the club colours to the rim of Vesuvius and even the most sophisticated restaurants were colouring the pasta blue.
What Maradona did is what Aguero has been doing since he ran on to the field for City that first time and played with a passion and a freedom that suggested whatever else life brought to him he would always have his football – and the kind of challenge that he faced now.
Mancini is right about the difficulty of reworking quickly the mentality of a big football team. But then so much depends on the kind of players you have. In Sergio Aguero he may just have one who has the power to change everything. So, yes, it was a good question – and the best possible answer.
Ian Snodin: Manchester City FC look in ominously good form
IT WAS with a bit of trepidation that I saw Manchester City comfortably win another game as the Manc dominance of this early season continues.
City and United continue to leave the rest for dead as they score hat-fuls each weekend.
Of course Everton go to the Etihad Stadium in their next but one game, and even though we have a remarkable record against the Citizens I can’t say I’m 100% looking forward to it
That said, I’m sure the players will be excited about the clash because you want to face the best – and so far it’s them. Liverpool Echo
Championship side Nottingham Forest look set to offer Manchester City defender Wayne Bridge a way out of the Etihad Stadium. the Sun
OTHER BOLLOX
Asamoah Gyan could yet have a future at Sunderland after agreeing to pay a chunk of his £200k-a-week wages while on loan at United Arab Emirates club Al-Ain to the Black Cats' charity foundation. Daily Mirror
Arsenal will re-enter the transfer window in January and are planning a cut-price double swoop for Bolton defender Gary Cahill and Fiorentina midfielder Riccardo Montolivo. Footybunker.com
Arsenal and Liverpool are monitoring the progress of 18-year-old Crystal Palace striker Wilfried Zaha. fanatix.com
And the Gunners are also lining up a summer swoop for 24-year-old Real Madrid midfielder Esteban Granero, according to reports in Spain. talkSHIT
Celtic striker Islam Feruz, 16, dubbed the 'Scottish Wayne Rooney' is set to join Chelsea. Metro
Serie A giants Juventus are hoping to tempt Manchester City left-back Aleksandar Kolarov back to Italy in January. talkSHIT
Arsenal failed in a deadline day swoop for Fiorentina striker and Chelsea target Stefan Jovetic. The 21-year-old joined Fiorentina in 2008 for around £7m from Partizan Belgrade. talkSHIT
French side Paris Saint Germain are rumoured to be interested in both Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho and Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger for the managerial post at the Parc des Princes. Inside Futbol
Bolton and England defender Gary Cahill has emerged as a possible target for Italian club Juventus. Inside Futbol
Former Liverpool frontman Ryan Babel has blamed the Anfield club's training regime for his poor form in England. The 24-year-old scored just 12 goals in his four years with the Reds and was sold to Hoffenheim in January.talkSPORT
Chelsea midfielder Raul Meireles says he was surprised when former club Liverpool wanted to sell him. Metro
Everton midfielder Tim Cahill is happy for the cash-strapped club to stay out of the transfer market if it secures their long-term future. Daily Mirror
Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe believes the club's battle to keep hold of midfielder Luka Modric is not over. talkSPORT
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has revealed why he broke his self-imposed rule against signing any player taller than he is. Daily Mirror
Spurs striker Jermain Defoe has enlisted a 70-year-old French fitness expert who once worked with Arsenal - and was recommended by Ian Wright - in his efforts to revive his career with club and country. Daily Mail
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